Al Jazeera said in its report "it is continuing to request a
presence in China".

The Guardian today also reported that "Chinese authorities have
yet to make a statement about the closure of the bureau, but
immigration officers say privately that Chan's visa has not been
renewed because she violated regulations".

In its report
Al Jazeera did not comment on the reasons given for the refusal
of Chan's visa, but said it "will continue to work with the Chinese
authorities in order to reopen our Beijing bureau".

Al Jazeera English's director of news Salah Negm added: "We've
been doing a first class job at covering all stories in China.

"Our editorial DNA includes covering all stories from all sides. We
constantly cover the voice of the voiceless and sometimes that
calls for tough news coverage from anywhere in world.

"We hope China appreciates the integrity of our news coverage and
our journalism. We value this journalist integrity in our coverage
of all countries in the world.

"We are committed to our coverage of China. Just as China news
services cover the world freely we would expect that same freedom
in China for any Al Jazeera journalist."

In an article on its website the Committee to Protect
Journalists called on China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
"immediately grant accreditation to Al Jazeera English reporters to
work in China".

Bob Dietz of the Committee to Protect Journalistswas
quoted by Al Jazeera as saying that the latest case marked "the
first expulsion of a journalist since 1998".

PR of the week

In what is believed to be a world-first, Tenderlake, a London, UK-based start-up announced today the release of Tenderlake Genius, an intelligent agent that automatically learns about an organisation’s products and services by reading and analysing the organisation’s website and/or marketing materials, and then creates a steady stream of open opportunities to supply said products and services